High nitrate and nitrite!

[Welsh_Woman]

I was doing a 20% water change once a week and vacuming the gravel as well. Since my apple snail eggs have hatched i've stopped vacuming because i don't want to loose any snails, i'm still doing the 20% water change though.

On monday i did my 20% and yesterday a guppy died for no apparent reason, so i tested the water and found highish levels of nitrite and nitrate. Is it because i've stopped the vacumming that this is happening? It was a lot for only a few days after a water change. Should I bump it up to 30% water change a week until i can vacume again or 20% on the weekend and 10% in the middle of the week?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

What was your cleaning regime before on average and how long was the tank set up for and was the dechlorinator you were using old or almost empty?
What changes have you made to your tank recently in anything?

 

[Welsh_Woman]

well every weekend i did a 20% water change and a vacume on the gravel, I use fresh start for my tank, yes the bottle is almost empty. Apart from stopping the vacuming nothing else has changed in the tank.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

If the bottle was almost empty, i've heard the stuff at the bottom becomes realy condensed and so not safe to use and its posible thats what led to your water stat problems; i usually chuck out my dechlorinator once its almost reached its end and buy a new one.
This also the same for meds, also if they get more than 6months old too.
Have you been using any meds recently?
Some meds don't work well together and cause water quality problems.

 

[Welsh_Woman]

no, no meds recently, the last i used was white spot stuff but that was weeks ago.

 

[corbypete]

EasyBalance will solve your problems within minutes.